Shellane+Franklin

On August 23, 1927, 27-year-old Shellane Franklin, a Black woman, died at the scene of the crime from an abortion performed on her that day.

Dr. Gordon Jackson, a white man, was held by the coroner on October 28.

On December 15, he was indicted for felony murder.

Shellane's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was [|performed by a physician].

Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see [|Abortion in the 1920s].



 For more on pre-legalization abortion, see [|The Bad Old Days of Abortion] Source:


 * [|Homicide in Chicago Interactive]

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